Unshackled
by Lucky Chan
Summary: On the eve of Yukina and Kuwabara’s wedding, Hiei watches from outside the church, all alone. Until Mukuro arrives… Bickerings and hasty exchanges ensue, and also…a marriage proposal! (HieiMukuro)


**Unshackled **

**_by Misty_ **

_**(a.k.a. Lucky Chan)** _

A soft wind blew, caressing his jet-black hair. His scarlet eyes peered into the gloom, down into the window of a small church. 

There was a large crowd inside the church, rows upon rows of people, seated on the church pews. Two people were at the center of the room: a short, bald man who acted as the priest for the ceremony; and a tall young man with red-orange hair, grinning from ear to ear. A young woman, her blue-green hair scarcely showing behind her veil, stayed behind the church pews. 

Hiei watched all this atop the tree he was in, invisible to everyone inside the church. His eyes were still fixed on the young bride, noting how her eyes, scarlet like his own, twinkled with unshed tears. 

She was smiling. He had never seen her smile like that in his entire lifetime. That smile was full only of pure happiness, not marred by any shadow of suffering, nor pain. 

He grunted in the darkness. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew that his sister _was_ going to be happy with that red-haired oaf—Kuwabara. He still hated the idea of that _moron_ getting married to Yukina, but he also knew that Kuwabara could—and would­­—take care of Yukina, far better than he could ever hope to do. 

He sighed, slumping further against the branches of the tree. 

"Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage," the priest said, "They must speak now—" 

_Or forever hold their peace,_ he finished in his head. Long ago he might have been tempted to speak, and get his hands on that dim-witted carrot top's neck, but he had accepted this wedding, now. He would not want to speak against it, and he would never speak about that one thing he had kept from Yukina…that he was the brother she had been looking for all these years. _Forever hold their peace, _the priest said. Well, he certainly would, and she would never know. It was better this way. 

"Are you sure you wouldn't want to speak now, Hiei?" 

He almost fell off the branch he was sitting on, but the person who spoke held an arm out, catching him before he fell. 

"Mukuro," he gasped, looking at the tall woman in front of him, her copper hair glistening in the moonlight. Half of her face was ravaged, and her metal eye stared out at him, glowing in the darkness. But her other half was flawless, even beautiful. He finally regained his composure, and glared at her through narrowed eyes. "What are you doing here in the Ningen Kai?" 

"You didn't even invite me to your sister's wedding," she said, leaning back on the tree trunk. "Where are your manners, Hiei?" 

"This wedding is none of your business." 

"Maybe." She shrugged, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. 

This annoyed him further, and he turned away. "Hn," he grunted. "Fine. Stay. I really don't care anymore." He was still angry with her, but he couldn't help but admire her for taking him by surprise. Only she could do that. 

He sat down beside her, and the minutes went by, with only silence between them as they watched beneath the branches of the tree. 

_"Who is it that brings this woman to this man?" _

Hiei watched as Yukina walked towards the altar, escorted by a red-haired young man, who carried himself with almost as much elegance as the young bride herself. "I do," Kurama said to the priest, "On behalf of her family and friends." 

Kurama stepped back, and Kuwabara took Yukina's hand into his. The red-haired youko smiled at them, and turned around slowly. He paused for a moment, his green eyes looking out the window of the church. 

Hiei turned away from Kurama's reproaching gaze, only to meet Mukuro's cold eyes. 

"Kurama came to my palace a week ago," she said. "He was looking for you. He said that Yukina wanted you to give her away at her wedding." 

"Hn." 

"Why did you refuse?" 

Hiei merely shrugged. "I did not refuse. Kurama never was able to find me. So he went in my place instead." 

Mukuro shook her head, and sighed. "You can't keep that secret from her forever." 

"Watch me." He cocked his head toward her. "_You're_ telling me that? It's as if you didn't have any secrets of your own." 

"No—at least, not anymore," she said. "You broke my chains a long time ago." 

"And now you want to return the favor?" he cut in. "No, thank you. I was never shackled, unlike you. I was always free." 

"Then why don't you tell Yukina about yourself?" she shot back, her one blue eye staring straight down at him, challenging him. 

"What I do or do not do is none of your business, Mukuro." 

"There you go again," she said. "Is that the only way you can get yourself out of a tight spot, Hiei? Surely you can do better than that." 

"Hn." 

Mukuro smiled to herself, enjoying their banter. "You _are_ still shackled, Hiei. Not by chains, maybe, but by your past." 

"You _should_ know, shouldn't you?" Hiei crossed his arms, facing her. "I long freed you from your chains, but that cannot be enough. You are haunted by a past, as I am, and you know it." 

_That's why we understand each other, _Mukuro thought. 

She only looked at him. She didn't say anything, but Hiei understood. 

Silence ensued between them again, and they sat, watching Yukina and Kuwabara exchange their wedding rings. "Wedding rings are an outward and visible sign of an inward spiritual grace and the unbroken circle of love," the priest declared, "Signifying to all the union of this man and this woman in marriage." 

_Rings_, Hiei thought, suddenly reaching inside his pocket. He still felt the cold touch of the box inside his pocket, and he relaxed. 

Mukuro looked at him, her eyes narrowed, questioning. 

"What _are _you doing here, Mukuro?" he asked instead. 

"Didn't you miss me?" 

"Just answer my question." 

"Why not?" Mukuro shrugged. "I wanted to see for myself what would happen. And I wanted to see Kuwabara Kazuma for myself…since I already know what you _think_ about him, then I can now see him for what he really _is_." 

"Hn. Now you see him for the idiot that he really _is_." 

Mukuro didn't reply immediately, but she only sat there, watching him. "You're worried," she finally said. 

"Who wouldn't be, what with that idiot—" He stopped, shaking his head. "No. She's going to be happy with him, and that's really all that matters." 

"She would be a lot happier if she knew where her brother was." 

This roused Hiei's anger again, and leapt to his feet, looking almost ready to strike at her. "You don't give up, do you?" 

Mukuro looked up at him, feigning innocence. "I was just making an observation." 

"She wouldn't be happy, if she knew," Hiei muttered, sitting back down. 

"You say that," Mukuro said, "But did you ever bother to ask her about it?" 

"Hn." Hiei ignored her, and leapt towards the topmost branches of the tree. Mukuro shook her head, turning her back on him. She leapt down towards the ground, and landed gracefully on the soft grass. 

Hiei reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small navy blue box. He gripped it tightly for a moment, watching Mukuro as she just stood there, motionless, her arms crossed. He smiled to himself, remembering how those arms were once bound in chains, and he was the one who freed her. His eyes flitted towards the tear gem he wore on his neck, the tear gem he had once lost, and Mukuro had found for him. 

His grip on the box loosened, as he finally reached a decision. He _had_ been thinking about his idea for a really long time, and the time had come to finally act on it. 

"Mukuro." 

She turned, and he threw the box at her, which she easily caught with her right hand. 

"What's this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

He didn't reply, and only turned his eyes towards the church once more. 

Mukuro opened the box, and held out a ring from it. The moonlight reflected back and forth in the small crystal set in the center, a rainbow of colors bouncing off from it. 

"It's diamond," Hiei said, still not looking at her. "Humans give it to the one they wish to…" He paused, closing his eyes. "To the one they wish to marry. I found out about it when that idiot proposed to Yukina." 

Mukuro's one eye widened, and she closed the box. "Do you wish to marry me?" 

"You're a smart woman. Figure it out." Hiei said these words brusquely, but his cheeks looked slightly pink, even in the shadows of the tree's branches. 

She leapt up towards the topmost branches, and stood beside him once more. "You didn't steal this, I hope," was all she said. 

"Does it really matter where I got it?" 

Mukuro shook her head, and was only able to speak a single word, "Why?" 

"Hn," Hiei grunted. He still did not look at her. "Power. Glory. All this we can achieve…together. I've been thinking about this, since that moron's proposal to Yukina. Marriage does have its benefits, after all." 

"Is that so?" A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips, and she glanced sideways at him. "You mean you're not going to marry me for love?" 

"_Baka_," Hiei grunted. "You're starting to sound like one of those silly _Ningen_. You know that we both don't know love." 

"That's true." Mukuro shrugged, but the smile remained on her lips, and the look she gave Hiei was very shrewd, knowing. 

_We both don't know love,_ Hiei thought. _That is true. And yet…maybe…_

_Maybe I love you. _

Below them, the ceremony was about to end. Hiei stole one last glance at his sister. "Think about it, Mukuro," he said, trying to sound cold and indifferent, but failing entirely. "It's all up to you, after all." 

He turned to leave, and was about to stand up, when Mukuro suddenly laid her hand on his. 

"Wait," she murmured. "I don't need to think about it, Hiei. I accept." 

Hiei's eyes widened, but he took Mukuro's hand in his own. 

"Good." He looked at her, and for a fleeting moment, the smile he saw on Mukuro's face looked exactly like the one he had seen on his own sister's face. 

Below them, the priest was saying his last blessings. "Yukina and Kazuma, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands,"he said, "I now pronounce you—" 

_Husband and wife._ Hiei wondered at the thought, but did not let go of Mukuro's hand. He thought of all the pain they had shared, all the unhappy memories that had once filled them with so much anger, hatred, and self-loathing. 

Now, there would be new memories, but happier ones. And he would be sharing them with her. 

He thought he liked the sound of that. 

After all the congratulations and all the picture-takings with the happy guests, Yukina drifted from the crowd, lingering at the church door. Kuwabara ran towards her, and put his arms around his new wife, still grinning broadly. The grin immediately disappeared from his face however, and he gave a cry of alarm. 

"Yukina!" he exclaimed, "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" 

"Oh, it's nothing, Kazuma," Yukina replied, raising her tear-filled eyes to him. "I'm just very happy." She rested her head on his shoulder, and smiled. "I'm so happy. Because of this wedding. And because…I'm so happy for my brother." 

"Your brother?" Kuwabara stared at her. "_What_? Where is he? You finally found him?" 

"I've known where he was all this time, Kazuma," she murmured. "And I'm glad he finally found happiness too." 

Kuwabara scratched his head, still looking bewildered. 

A single tear fell on Yukina's cheek, and it glittered in the moonlight. It fell down on the floor, now transformed into a pure, white pearl. She looked up, gazing at the silhouette of two people standing atop a tree, their hands intertwined. 

Yukina looked at the gem hanging from the neck of one of the figures, the gem which was identical to the one she also wore. 

"Congratulations," she whispered. "My dear brother." 

Kuwabara's mother suddenly called out to them, wanting to take another picture. They turned, and Kuwabara took her hand. 

She stole one last glance at the trees, but the two figures were gone. She smiled again, and she and her husband hurried back into the crowd. 

--End— 

_Author's Notes: _

_*cheers* I finally finished another fanfic! XD *sigh* One-shots are the only things I'm capable of finishing these days… -_-; Well…at least I finally got to write a Hiei/Mukuro piece…I've been wanting to write one since I first started writing YYH fanfiction. ^_^;;; _

_By the way, based on my research, more and more Japanese couples are now adopting Christian traditions and ceremonies in their weddings, even if they're not Christian. So now I have an excuse on why Yukina and Kuwabara had a Christian wedding ceremony... ^_^; _

_Reviews will be truly appreciated, of course. Thank you, minna! _


End file.
